Apple Takes Accessibility Features to the Next Level in iOS 14
Apple has been leading the way for smartphone users to interact with their devices even for those with visual and audio impediments. iOS 14 takes this up a notch and makes interacting with your iPhone even easier than before.
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Not only did Apple take the time to focus on interacting with your iPhone physically, but there are some extra new features. These include audio improvements along with some extra goodies for those who use AirPods.
What’s new with iOS 14?
iOS 14 is one of the biggest updates to the mobile platform in years. While many of us were hoping to have the ability to rearrange our icons the way we want, Apple took a different approach.
When the update drops this Fall, you will now be able to add widgets directly to your home screen. These come in an array of different sizes, and the hope is that your favorite third-party apps take advantage of the new features.
Plus, the new App Library gives you a completely different way to navigate and find your apps. There are pre-populated folders where your apps will reside, including Suggestions and Recently Added. But what makes this even more awesome is that you can essentially have a page full of widgets, the Dock, and then just use the App Library. Gone are the days of having to scroll forever just to find the right app or folder.
After years and years of begging Apple to change the call screen, it finally did. iOS 14 brings a new compact interface for handling calls, allowing you to continue interacting with your phone. A redesigned interface also has come to Siri, so you can keep looking at your screen while asking Siri for some help.
This is one of the most exciting updates in years. And as someone who is on the Developer Beta, it’s surprisingly stable for the first beta. But we still don’t recommend putting it on your personal device just yet. Apple is slated to open Public Betas sometime this month, ahead of the final release in the Fall.
Making iOS more accessible than ever
The crazy thing about iOS 14 is that there are so many changes that Apple didn’t even touch on what’s new with Accessibility. Maybe next year the company will change its mind and dedicate some time during the keynote, but iOS 14 has quite a few new tricks.
Sound Recognition
If you, or someone you know, have hearing issues, your iPhone can now help recognize important sounds. Sound Recognition has been added and sends a notification when any of the sounds are recognized by your iPhone. These are the steps to turn Sound Recognition on:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and select Accessibility.
- Scroll down and tap Sound Recognition.
- Toggle Sound Recognition to the On position.
- Tap Sounds.
- Go through the list and select which sounds you want notifications for.
These are the sounds that your iPhone can recognize with iOS 14:
- Alarms
- Fire
- Siren
- Smoke
- Animals
- Household
- Appliances
- Car Horn
- Door Bell
- Door Knock
- Water Running
- People
- Baby Crying
- Shouting
Audio improvements
Apple seems to be taking a keen interest in ensuring that its users get the best audio experience possible on a smartphone. iOS 14 introduces a few new features, along with updating some older features, to make things even better.
- Headphones Accommodations: If you have issues hearing, Headphone Accommodations allow you to create a “Custom Audio Setup”. This makes it possible for you to tune your audio in various aspects, and then apply these profiles across music, podcasts, and even phone calls. AirPods Pro owners can fine-tune the Transparency Mode to make voices sound more crisp and other noises more detailed.
- VoiceOver: This feature has been around in iOS for quite some time. But with iOS 14, VoiceOver can now identify various elements on your display. But the trick here is that this can work even for those apps and websites that don’t have accessibility features built-in.
Back Tap
After it was discovered, my Twitter feed was flooded with different developers finding uses for Back Tap. This is a brand new feature in iOS 14 that allows to perform either a double or triple-tap on the back of your iPhone. Then, various customized actions will be performed, removing the need to jump through hoops just to access various parts of your phone.
How to customize the “Back Tap” in iOS 14
Getting Back Tap set up properly is pretty easy, and is found right in the Accessibility settings on your iPhone. Here’s where you need to go to get started:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and select Accessibility.
- Select Touch.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Back Tap.
From here, you must select either Double Tap or Triple Tap to enable the actions for the taps.
What settings can take advantage of Back Tap?
Surprisingly, Apple threw much of the kitchen sink at Back Tap and has made it easy to perform many actions with just a couple of taps. Here are the general options for both:
- Accessibility Shortcut
- App Switcher
- Control Center
- Home
- Lock Screen
- Mute
- Notification Center
- Reachability
- Screenshot
- Shake
- Siri
- Spotlight
- Volume Down
- Volume Up
These are the Accessibility and Scroll Gestures:
- AssistiveTouch
- Classic Invert
- Magnifier
- Smart Invert
- Speak Screen
- VoiceOver
- Zoom
- Scroll Down
- Scroll Up
Those who are always looking for new ways to activate Shortcuts will be pleased to know that Back Tap works for Shortcuts as well. Scrolling all the way to the bottom of the list reveals any Shortcuts installed on your iPhone. Then, you can set any of them to be activated when either double or triple tapping your iPhone.
Other additions
Apple didn’t stop there and has added even more features to improve Accessibility with your iPhone. iOS 14 is chocked-full of hidden features and we are still working through and discovering new options all of the time. Here are a few of the other Accessibility features found in iOS 14.
- Sign Language in FaceTime: Previously, Group FaceTime calls would automatically resize to put emphasis on the person speaking. With iOS 14, that is changed and FaceTime is able to recognize if a participant is using Sign Language, and makes that person the focal point of the group call.
- Noise app in watchOS 7: You may not realize it, but chances are that you listen to your music at a higher level then you should. With watchOS 7 and iOS 14, the Noise app (introduced in watchOS 6) will display the decibel level for any of the music that you are currently listening to with connected headphones.
- Improved Magnifier: Even though you can adjust the size of your home screen and the text, sometimes the Magnifier feature comes in handy. With iOS 14, users can now magnify even more of the area they are viewing. The updated Magnifier even makes it possible for users to brighten images to make them easier to see.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
